


Truth Lies in the Depth

by VerdiWithin



Series: Talisman [25]
Category: Lore Olympus (Webcomic)
Genre: Ancient Treachery, Betrayal, Developing Relationship, F/M, Prophecy, Rise of the Dread Queen, Secrets, Weird Impregnation, environmental collapse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-17
Updated: 2019-12-17
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:35:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21838333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VerdiWithin/pseuds/VerdiWithin
Summary: Persephone has an encounter with a mysterious entity.
Relationships: Hades/Persephone (Lore Olympus)
Series: Talisman [25]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1497371
Comments: 25
Kudos: 299





	Truth Lies in the Depth

**Author's Note:**

> Previously in this series: 
> 
> Persephone has been noticing ongoing problems in Elysium. Thanatos is in Tartarus after attempting to overthrow Hades’s rule of the Underworld. The Furies now serve Persephone. Athena requested Persephone’s help in taking care of a certain box with interesting contents. The Fates’ video tape revealed that when Hades and Persephone first met, he proposed marriage to her.

I enter the Shade Resources Department, intending only to check in briefly with my assistant. I’m extremely worried about Elysium. The odd, intermittent problems I’ve been noticing for the past week or two have exacerbated, at least according to the emails I’ve already received this morning from staff members.

“Good morning, Kynora,” I say as I enter the outer office.

“Good morning, Persephone. I’ve rescheduled most of your appointments as you requested but there was one I thought you should keep.”

I’m looking at my phone, checking the latest emails. “I’ll take a look at it,” I say as I go into my office. There’s one new email from the chief of Elysium maintenance, but it contains no substantive news.

I open my calendar and look at the appointment that Kynora mentioned. It says, “Hermes + new hire: mtg requested by Epimelis.” Okay, so I’m meeting with Hermes and another person, a new hire, and the meeting was requested by Hades’s PA. That’s odd. I rise to my feet to go ask Kynora to interpret this for me, when Hermes steps through the door.

“G’morning, Perse,” he says cheerily.

“Good morning. Do you have any idea what this meeting is about?”

“Oh, yeah, I have a memo about that." A memo? He reaches into his pocket, digs around, and pulls out a bit of paper. He unfolds it, then unfolds it again, and a third time. Finally he holds a regular business-sized sheet, much crumpled, and offers it to me. I take it without comment, and read:

> _To: All department heads_
> 
> _From: Hades, CEO_
> 
> _Please be informed that henceforth all operations, employees, and responsibilities of the Office of Shade Acquisition will be incorporated into the Shade Resources Department, effective immediately. Please direct any inquiries about this matter to the Director of Shade Resources._

This means that I’m now responsible for shades getting to the Underworld, as well as what happens to them once they’re here. I suppose that’s not such a big step. The weird part is why Hades chose to tell me this in an old-fashioned paper memo, instead of by email, or just by opening his mouth. It’s not like he hasn’t had a chance to talk to me. After all, I’ve spent the last three nights sleeping in his bed. With him. I blush a little, thinking this.

“Have you read this, Hermes?”

“Uh…” he says, not meeting my eyes. He’s not supposed to read mail, but this wasn’t sealed. His reluctance is really all the answer I need.

“Okay, so what do you think about it?”

“That you’re my new boss? It’s cool, I guess. Your other people seem happy.” I imagine if he was upset he would just tell me. Hermes isn’t the type to conceal his feelings or play emotional games.

“Well, good. I know how hard you work, so I don’t foresee any problems. Do you know anything about a new hire?” 

“I heard a rumor that there was somebody coming on board to take Thanatos’s job, but that’s all I know.”

I hear the sound of an embarrassed throat-clearing from the door, and I look over. The tall barrel-chested god who stands there looks vaguely familiar. He’s a bronzy sort of green, with dark hair, and he looks extremely uncomfortable.

“Excuse me, ma’am. I’m Moros, I don’t know if you remember me. Hades told me to report to you.” 

I remember him. This is the boorish, clumsy man who tried to pick me up at the municipal dinner a couple weeks ago. And Hades sent him?

“To report to _me_? Then you’re the new hire?” I ask.

“Yes, ma’am. I’ve helped Thanatos in the past, when there were periods of high demand. Wars and such. So I know the ropes.” He has a curious, drawling way of speaking. He’s also making an effort to be respectful, to make up for how he behaved when we first met.

“I see. Well, I guess you’d better get started, then. Perhaps you can compare notes with Hermes and see if any procedures have changed since the last time you did this work.”

“Yes, ma’am, I can do that.”

“You don’t have to call me _ma’am_. Persephone will do.” I say, and give a firm nod. I hope he gets the message that I’m trying to be fair, but not really friendly. “Unfortunately I’m dealing with a crisis today, or I would spend more time talking to both of you. As it is, I’ll just have to rely on you to use your initiative. I’ll make time as soon as possible for us all to talk.”

The two of them nod agreement, thank me, and go. I’m left shaking my head. I think this new hire is a weird kind of present from Hades. What’s he trying to say? _This guy was rude to you, so now you get to be mean to him?_ Well, maybe. Moros’s prior experience means it makes sense to bring him back to do Thanatos’s job. At any rate, I don’t have time to decipher this right now.

I pick up my phone and leave my office. “Kynora, try to deal with or delay anything that comes up, but if you feel there’s a situation that really needs me, I’ll be in Elysium.”

***

I open the portal to Elysium, and it’s the pervasive odor that I notice right away. It smells like rotting leaves and decaying plants. All around me the leaves are turning red and brown, and falling to the ground. The smell of putrid vegetation invades my nostrils and rips at my heart. It's much, much worse than it was on Friday. Far worse than I understood. Elysium is dying.

I feel tears stinging my eyes and control them with an effort as I look around, evaluating the devastation. The formerly clear, babbling stream I can see from where I stand has diminished to a sluggish flow of silty, brackish water. The grasses of the fields near me are drooping, dry, starting to crumble. Looking through the bare-branched trees of the forest, I see that they too look brittle and ready to disintegrate.

I suppose I’m glad that we’ve hardly begun to populate this place with animals, or they would be dying, too. The chief of maintenance approaches me.

“It got so much worse over two days!” I say.

“Yes, ma’am, and I think it’s accelerating.” 

I shake my head in denial. “At this rate, it’ll all be back to mulch and dust by tomorrow. We need to do something drastic.”

“I was hoping you’d say that, ma’am”

Of course. Really that means: _I_ need to do something drastic. I am the creator of this place. I am its doyenne.

I can only think of two things to be done. The first is easy: I need to speak to Hecate. She’s my mentor, and a very handy goddess in a crisis. I send her a text: _It’s worse than I realized. Could use your advice._

“I’m going to take a look around,” I say to the chief. “If Hecate comes, tell her I went to the waterfall.”

To save time, I take to the air, and touch down shortly in the meadow. I notice that the waterfall’s flow is a fraction of what it was. The sound it makes is only a sad echo of its previous delightful rush. 

The tears I’ve been holding back well up and spill down my cheeks. My present to Hades is reduced to this pitiful sham. I'm a fraud and a complete failure as a goddess. I have to do something!

Slowly I sink to my knees, crushing the meadow grass beneath me into a powder. I choke back a sob. I work my hands into the dirt--the black, fertile, volcanic soil of Elysium, rich with organic matter and teeming with microscopic life. At least _this_ is still as it ought to be. Not everything in my domain is inverted.

I push threads of my power deep into the soil, spreading out, exploring, searching for the source of the problem. At first all seems as expected--there are earthworms and insects, groundwater and root systems. I push deeper, open my awareness as far as I can, hone my will to probe more carefully.

I catch a faint scent--not really a scent, of course, but some sense. I turn my attention towards the cave I carved into the rock behind the waterfall, the treasure chamber I put there for the box that Athena put into my care. Something tickles the edge of my awareness and instinct tells me I’m on the right track.

I sharpen my focus until it’s almost like I’m peering into the little cave, even though physically I’m still kneeling in the meadow. The box--it’s practically buzzing with energy. I loop a thin tendril of my power over it and touch it carefully. 

Instantly my senses are overloaded and I have a sensation akin to a strong electric shock. It’s several moments before my senses function properly, and when they do, I’m aware of a new sensation: a feeling I can only describe as enormous potential. Then the voice speaks--the powerful, devastating, terrifying voice: 

**_At last!_ **

***

**_Destroyer of Light._ **

I have heard that name before. Who was it who used it?

**_Promised one. Queen who will be._ **

My mind shies away from this. I try very hard not to let myself think in those terms. It’s conceited and arrogant.

**_You must come to me._ **

I don’t want to go _anywhere_. I don’t like this situation. A weird voice is talking to me, and my mind is somehow detached from my body, and I don’t know how to re-attach my awareness to my physical existence. 

**_You must bring my treasure to me._ **

Treasure? Athena called the box’s contents a treasure. And she mentioned a voice. An ancient, powerful voice, she said. That certainly describes what I’m experiencing. It’s an interesting confirmation, but it doesn’t make me want to comply. I’d have to be very naive to assume that some mysterious voice talking to me has benevolent intentions.

**_You must, child. I have much to tell you._ **

I feel the pull of the voice, subtle but inexorable. It wants to tell me things. Well, there are many things I want to know. Starting with who the voice is, and what’s going on with Elysium. I’m tempted to go.

 _Kore_ ! I hear. This new voice is very different. It’s familiar. Its pull is anything but subtle: I feel the tug of lust and distress, of fear and need. _Kore, please! Come back!_ It’s Hades. He’s calling me. I can feel his anguish. His emotion surrounds me now, and it’s like a trail of smoke in the air. I can follow it back.

***

“Kore! Please, Sweetness, _please_! Wake up, love, you can do it! Come back to me. I need you!” 

I suck in a breath, and open my eyes, looking up into Hades’s anxious face. I’m sprawled out, still in the meadow in Elysium. He’s kneeling on the ground and holding me in his arms. When he sees that I’m awake, the relief floods his expression.

“Oh, Kore, thank the Fates. You’re all right?”

I nod weakly. “Yes.” 

Hecate is on my other side. She’s holding my wrist, checking my pulse, I guess. Behind her, all three Furies are lined up, watching me. They’re just standing there: waiting calmly, expectantly. They don’t seem either surprised or relieved. It gives me a chill to see them like that.

I turn my gaze back to Hades. Behind him, there’s something strange shimmering in the air. It’s a dark oval, a black door into nothing, shining with iridescent colors like an oil slick, and edged with piercingly bright rainbow light. 

I want to ask what it is, but I am more concerned with my beloved. He looks utterly devastated. I reach up and touch his face, the prominent cheekbones, the sharp line of his jaw. I can still feel the strong pull of that other voice. It takes an effort to focus on the here and now. 

“How long was I out?” I ask.

“We’ve been here almost twenty minutes, trying to wake you,” Hades replies. He squeezes me tightly, so I hook my arm around his neck, letting him hug me. 

“You texted me about half an hour ago,” Hecate supplies. 

It doesn’t feel to me like I was gone for more than a few minutes. “Help me up?” I ask Hades. I figure he’ll be more inclined to let me get up if I let him help me. He stands with me in his arms, and then cautiously sets me down on my feet. 

Hades keeps a hold on my arm, obviously concerned for my stability, but I feel fine. “What is that?” I ask, pointing at the black door.

“It’s some kind of portal, but I couldn’t say to what,” Hecate says.

“It was here when we arrived,” Hades says. “I was hoping you might know more.”

I can make a guess. The voice wanted me to come to it, and it’s provided a way. I open my mouth to start explanations, but the voice interrupts me.

_T **he Destroyer of Light must come to me. She must enter My depths and face me. She must bring the treasure entrusted to her.**_

The voice is all around, thrumming my body with its vibration, and the ground rocks slightly with the force of it.

“Fucking shit!” spits Hades, angry and fretful. I don’t like to think about what could make him react that way, but nevertheless I feel relieved that it’s not just me that hears it. Hecate and the Furies are reacting too, looking around as if to find the source of the voice.

“What have you done to attract the attention of the Ancient Ones, honey?” Hecate asks me.

“What do you mean by Ancient Ones?” I quaver. 

Hecate and Hades exchange a long look. “It’s hard to say,” Hades says. “They like their mysteries. But I think that was my grandmother. Gaia.”

That fits with what Athena said. “I guess I should go and get this treasure, then,” I say.

Hades looks startled. “You know what it is?”

I nod miserably. “Yes. I’m pretty sure, anyway. I’ll show you.”

I never imagined that fulfilling Athena’s request would require anything more from me than providing a place for her box. I should have realized, of course. She said she thought it had a purpose, but I suppose I willfully ignored that part. 

The waterfall is so diminished that I need only redirect a small amount of the flow to expose the path behind the curtain of water. Hades looks quite astonished, but allows me to take his hand and pull him with me. I lead him down the short passageway. 

“Has this been here all along?” he asks.

“No!” I answer. I didn’t plan this when I made his gift. I didn’t mean it to be some kind of betrayal. “Less than two weeks. Athena came to see me--” I feel like a vise is gripping my throat. I want to tell him everything, to try to make up for the secrets I’ve been keeping, but something is stopping me.

We enter the treasure chamber and Hades sees the stone pillar, and the box placed upon it.

“She gave this into my keeping,” I say, gesturing.

“What is it?” He can see the symbols etched on the box in bright silver: hammers, tongs, and flames combined with owls, snakes, and spears. I know he can make some good guesses.

“It’s--” my voice chokes off. “I’m not sure I should say.” I don’t want to tell him that it contains another god’s seed. That’s just icky and weird.

“Oh. Did Athena ask you to keep it a secret?”

“Not exactly, but it’s a very personal matter.” 

Hades pauses in thought. “I hardly think that Athena would try anything underhanded.”

I nod agreement with this. I’ve never known her to be sneaky or deceitful. I take a deep breath and try to force out the things I need to say. “I’m sorry, Hades. I had no right to hide this in the Underworld without your knowledge. I really overstepped! I’m _so_ sorry--” I lose control of my voice in a squeak. 

Hades cups my head with his gentle hands, framing my face. “Kore. It’s okay. I’ve told you before that I trust your judgment. Besides, Elysium is _yours_.”

I shake my head. I feel that’s both true and not true. “It was stupid and presumptuous of me.”

“No, Sweetness. This whole thing has a feeling about it that I recognize. I think the Fates have been dabbling their fingers in this affair. We try to pretend that we’re in control, but when they start pulling strings, we do as _they_ wish, the same as mortals.”

He kisses my forehead and I try to absorb what he said. He really thinks the Fates have been taking a hand? That I acted this way, not out of irresponsibility, but because the Fates dictated it?

I look at the box. I’m reluctant to touch it. I brought it here in a bag, but I don’t have one with me this time. 

“Have you any idea why Gaia might want this?” Hades asks.

“No. But Athena thought it had some purpose. She kept it for a long time, but then a dream told her to give it to me.”

Hades nods, accepting this as if it’s totally a normal thing. He waits for me to act.

“I don’t want to touch it,” I admit. 

He raises an eyebrow, and considers for a moment. Then he takes off his jacket and hands it to me. “You can use this.”

“Thank you.” I wrap the box carefully, then pick it up. It’s not heavy.

We exit the cave together and return to where Hecate and the Furies wait.

“You have it?” Hecate asks.

“Yes. At least I think this is what the voice wants,” I say. 

I look at the portal. I don’t want to do this. Why couldn’t Athena take care of this thing herself? No, that’s not really fair. If Hades is right, then she was only acting in accordance with the Fates’ desires. She is no less subject to their whims than I am.

The liquid swirl of colors on the surface of the portal entices me. My eyes are drawn to it, and I can feel its force pulling me, as if it were a magnet.

**_Come to me._ **

Hades moves in front of me, looking imploringly into my eyes. “Kore, this is a bad idea. Please don’t go. I could go for you--”

“Stop it, Hades,” snaps Hecate. “This is Persephone’s task, not yours. You know how Grandmother is when she’s made up her mind. There isn’t a choice here.” She pauses and looks at me carefully, but continues addressing Hades. “Not for _you_ , anyway.”

Does she mean there’s a choice here for me? I can’t really see it. I need help with Elysium. I can’t let it die. I accepted responsibility for Athena’s treasure, so I must see it delivered. Plus, if the Fates really are directing this scenario, I have no choice at all.

The Furies have been silent this whole time, but they choose now as their moment to speak. Their smiles are sharp with pointed teeth and their eyes glow with subdued menace.

“The time of choosing is here,” Alecto says.

“It is the first reckoning,” says Megaera.

“Praxidike must go,” Tisiphone concludes.

I shiver. I understand very well by now that the Fates are in charge; they don’t need to jerk the strings so plainly. The draw of the portal intensifies, sinking its fierce hooks deep into my will. I take an involuntary step forward, and then another. I lean back against it, but I already know my struggle will be fruitless.

“ _Dammit!_ ” Hades growls. His tension is riding his shoulders and clenching his expression. He turns to me and grips my arms tightly. “Persephone. _Please_ listen to me. I know you feel the pull already. I know how difficult it is to resist the Ancient Ones. But you _have_ to remember who you are. Please, remember you have a place here. A home. Remember that I love you.”

“I won’t forget,” I tell him. “I could never forget that. I love you, too.”

He kisses me fiercely and lets me go, taking a reluctant step away.

I enter the portal and dissolve into it, like a drop of rain falling into a vast sea.

***

For some undefined period of time, I’m aware of only darkness. I have no sense of touch, or smell, hearing, or taste. I can’t feel my body at all. Perhaps I have no sight either, or perhaps I’m just in a place of profound darkness.

I’m not afraid. It’s peaceful. I decide that I’m not in my body anymore, I’m a detached consciousness, as I was in the previous conversation with the voice. Sometime after I reach that conclusion, I start to sense things again. 

The faint outline of walls around me in the dark, forming a tunnel. The scent of earth. The sound and feeling of my footfalls as I walk. I look down and see the wrapped bundle in my arms. I squeeze it, just to be sure that the box is still there, contained in the folds of Hades’s jacket.

I keep walking. I’m not tired, or hungry, or thirsty, even though I feel like much time has passed. Eventually my straining sight hints that I have arrived in a vast chamber.

**_You are welcome here, chosen of my grandson._ **

I stop walking. “Thank you,” I say. “Great Mother, can you please help me with the damage to Elysium?”

**_First we must converse. I must hear the words of the thrice-chosen, thrice-choosing Queen._ **

“I’m not a queen,” I say. “I don’t know if I ever will be. That’s not my choice to make.”

**_You have been destined to be a Queen since the day you were born, but you must choose your path. You must choose whether to be the Maiden, or the Mistress, but in either case, you will be Queen._ **

That makes no sense to me. I can’t be a maiden anymore, I’m not a virgin. I guess I am a mistress to Hades, more or less, but how can I be his mistress if I become queen? Aren’t the two contradictory? 

“How can that be, Great Mother?” I ask politely.

**_I will show you, child._ **

Before my mind’s eye, a picture forms. It’s me. Strong and serene, calm and benign. Somehow, indefinably, I look older. I’m wearing a long, loosely-cut peplos of heavy white silk, girdled and embroidered with gold. My hair is wound around my head in a circular braid, atop which sits a crown made from bright, living flowers and barley sheaves wrought from gold. A strong shaft of sunlight falls upon me, making the gold on my dress sparkle, adding further radiance to my botanical diadem. I raise my hand in gentle benediction and rain blessings upon a crowd of adoring mortals kneeling at my feet.

I feel a stab of longing for this image of myself. It’s how I might have been, had I stayed within the limits my mother imposed upon me. Had I remained a virgin, and chosen to stay at her side. I miss her. I haven’t seen her in months. I feel abandoned, and lonely, and betrayed. 

How could she send me off to Olympus and allow me to face terrible things on my own? How can she stay away so long? What is she doing that’s so much more important than her own daughter? I feel tears leaking down my face. I had no idea I harbored all this resentment. I sniffle, and try to control myself. 

The scene changes. Again it’s me, older, with my face showing strength and courage. My surroundings are completely different. I’m standing in a chamber of black marble, cold and austere. I wear a gown of black samite, provocative and fashionable. Around my neck is a collar of diamonds and rubies, with more gems surrounding my wrists and dripping from my ears. My hair is long, and waving, and upon my head sits a spiky crown of black metal. I catch my breath at this image. The power of this woman who is me strikes me like a blow.

The craving I feel for this version of myself is no less than what I felt for the first. The implication that I would be married to Hades warms me all the way through. He’s waiting for me now. He loves me.

_**This is the choice you must make, child. The crown of barley, or the crown of iron. The sunlight or the darkness. The upper world or the lower.** _

I draw a slow breath. “Great Mother, I don’t see how this is a choice. I am not a maiden any longer, and the choice to make me Queen of the Underworld is Hades’s to make, not mine.”

**_Has my grandson not already chosen you?_ **

I frown, disconcerted. Hades did propose to me, but he was drunk, and he’d only just met me. I’m certain he was joking, and doesn’t remember it. “Maybe,” I say. I wait to hear what she’ll say next.

**_Have you brought my treasure, child?_ **

“I have, Great Mother.” I set the box down on the ground and unwrap it, moving it by touching it through the cloth of Hades’s jacket. I back away, and put the jacket on. It smells faintly of Hades and it comforts me. 

**_Open the box._ **

I let the sleeve of the jacket cover my hand, and do as she requested. I move well away from the box, and watch. It’s starting to glow. More accurately, the box’s contents are glowing, swirling with many colors, so bright that I have to shade my eyes. That’s weird. It doesn’t look like that when--never mind. I move back even farther, but I don’t take my eyes away. 

The swirling glow of the box’s contents coalesce into a single point of blinding brightness. Slowly this point rises from the box, floating up and up, shedding an eerie glitter that illuminates a wide circle around me. It rises above my eye level, then more, until it flashes and is gone. The feeling I had earlier of tremendous potential returns, redoubled. I hear a vague sound, something like a sigh, and I blush. 

Why was it necessary for me to be here for this? I feel very odd, having been forced to be a party to this strange act, and to witness it.

_T **hank you, child. I have something for you in return. It will render whole that which is breached by treachery.**_

A tiny spark begins in the far distance, reddish and soft. It seems to approach me rapidly, until my eyes snap into focus and I see a sparkling pink crystal hanging before me, about the size of my smallest finger. 

**_You must keep it safe, and bide your time. When the opportunity arises, you must decide. Will you leave the sundered ruler be, or will you renew the defiler’s ingenuity? Will you follow the path of the Great Traitor, or will you forge your own path as the Great Restorer?_ **

“I don’t understand!” Really, is it necessary to be _that_ cryptic?

**_Choose wisely, child, and know that neither choice brings perfection. You will be complicit, no matter which path you take. Either path brings pain for some, and unearned benefit for others._ **

“Can you please explain? None of this makes sense to me.”

_**It will not be your final choice, child. But it will be a choice that defines the entire world.**_

Well, fantastic. I have to make an important choice and she won’t even explain what the options are? I put the crystal carefully into the pocket of my dress. I suppose I’ll figure out later what to do with it.

**_Treachery upon treachery, that is the way of our kind. Will there be a third upheaval? The choice is yours, child. Just know this. Your fate is not sealed until you choose thrice._ **

I shake my head, losing patience. “What about Elysium? Is that your doing?”

**_Fear not, child. All will be well with your gift. I apologize for damaging it, but I needed to get your attention._ **

Well, she certainly did that. I feel a flood of resentment and anger that she nearly destroyed my creation, just to get me to talk to her. It seems to me that she could have just asked. 

_I **t is time. Choose for today, child. You are a goddess. You can be anything you want to be. If you want to be a virgin, then be one. I will purify you, if you ask it. I will deliver you to your mother. That is one path. Choose, child. Choose, Queen.**_

“You can make me a virgin again?” I could go back to my mother? Back to the simple life of the Mortal Realm, where my responsibilities are clear and straightforward? Where I can be comforted by my mother’s pure love?

I wrap my arms tightly around myself, holding this idyllic picture of living again as a child, the adored child of my protective, generous, doting mother. My fingers rub gently against the dark fabric of Hades’s suit jacket. I hunch my shoulders, bringing the garment up around my ears, and wrap it tightly over my mouth and nose.

I inhale, closing my eyes. I smell Hades’s complex scent of smoke and dormant soil, snow and cedar. I miss him. I want him, with every muscle in my body, every synapse in my brain. I long for him. I ache.

***

I stumble forward, pushing through the portal, and collapse on my knees, then topple into the grass. There are loud cries from many voices but I have no more energy. I can’t speak, I can’t even open my eyes.

“ _Wait_ , Hades. I told you. There is more at work here than just your personal drama.” Hecate’s voice. 

“Is she all right?” Hades, sounding frantic.

“Yes, she’s breathing.” Alecto.

I feel presences around me, warm bodies, a slight odor of leather and copper. “We’re here, Persephone,” says Tisiphone. I’m lifted into a reclining position, and leaning back on someone’s breasts. Hands touch me gently, probing to check for injuries. There’s a slithery-tickly feeling and I realize the Furies’ snakes are checking on me, too.

“Can you speak?” Megaera’s voice, behind me.

“Uh.” It’s the best I can do. I can barely keep awake, talking is out of the question.

“Please, Mistress. We must know. We will serve you no matter what, but we must know your choice.” Alecto again.

I make a huge effort. I lick my lips, in preparation for speaking. I flutter my eyelids, pulling, willing my eyes to open. I pant from the exertion. Finally I can see faintly, hazy shadows glimpsed through my eyelashes. Megaera looking over my shoulder, Tisiphone and Alecto on either side, holding my hands, Hecate standing by my feet, Hades crouching by my knees, looking distraught.

“My sisters,” I murmur. “I am home.” I let my eyes close again.

The Furies all seem to speak at once, in a weird, high-pitched incantation.

“Adelfi! She has returned to us! The first reckoning is past!”

“We will serve Despoina to the end of time!”

“Praxidike has chosen. This is a momentous day!”

I feel their hands again, all three of them touch my cheeks and my brows, squeeze my hands. Their snakes kiss my eyelids and my mouth.

I am laid briefly on the ground, and then strong arms lift me, and I know it’s Hades even before he speaks. “Kore, my love. I was so frightened for you.” I lay my head on his shoulder.

Hecate speaks. “There is no need for that. She is yours now, Hades.”

**_For as long as you can keep her!_ **

**Author's Note:**

> Red: *finger-guns*
> 
> Despoina means mistress.  
> Adelfi means our sister.


End file.
